Send me email updates about messages I've received
on the site and the latest news from The CafeMom Team.By signing up, you certify that
you are female and accept the Terms of Service and have read the
Privacy Policy.

tapping in our walls!

There is a tapping coming from our walls and we can't tell exactly where. We don't know if a mouse could be making this noise or what it could be. I really hope we don't have a mouse problem. any advice?

Is this a new place for you guys? If so, it could be the pipes expanding when hot water flows through them. We have a hot water heating system in our house and whoever installed it made the pipes too tight (gave them no room to expand into the space) so they knock, tap and ping everytime they expand and it often sounds just like a critter scraping at the walls.

Since it is winter, and if you don't have a pipe problem, it could be a critter that has found its way into your walls to try to keep warm and/or in search of food. One way to try to determine if it is a critter is to put a bit of food out in the middle of the floor of the room you hear the tapping noise and see if it is gone the next morning. Also, check all of your cabinets to see if there are any droppings or nibble marks on the packages. A mouse will even try to eat the buttons on your remote if there isn't any other food handy.

Answer by
Anonymous
at 7:57 PM on Feb. 16, 2010

Whats a death watch beetle? and no it's not to new we've lived here for about a year and a half and never heard it. the food thing is a good idea only it's in our room haha so I'd freak out if I woke up and saw it lol. Thanks ladies.